Polymeric agents are commonly bonded to inorganic material substrates, such as glass beads, to facilitate the chemical or physical interaction of the agent with one or more other species to which the agent is subsequently exposed. Presentation of the polymeric agent on the substrate increases the amount of the agent exposed for interaction, and confers mechanical strength and other properties desirable for typical reaction conditions, for instance, column operation.
However, a number of polymeric agents--prominently including various ion-exchange materials--cannot conveniently be bonded to an inorganic material substrate via a direct, chemical link which is hydrophobic, and thus--when deposited on the substrate--are not resistant to the solubilizing action of an aqueous medium such that the polymeric agent remains on the substrate when in contact with such medium. Although such a bonding to the inorganic material substrate is possible, it is impractical and extraordinarily expensive because such a process generally involves placing the monomers on the substrate, polymerizing the monomers and then subjecting same to a harsh sulfonation.
It would be a substantial advance to provide a composite comprising an inorganic material substrate with a polymeric agent made up of polycarboxylated materials (or other polymeric material which tends to be removed by contact with an aqueous medium) held thereon by a binding substance such that the polymeric agent is rendered resistant to removal when the composite is in contact with an aqueous medium.